Means for operating well-boring drills



A. B. CROSS ET AL MEANSVFOR OPERATING WELL BORING DRILLS FiledQApIl 2G, 1928 v Feb. 4, 1930.

Patented Feb. 4,1930

- vuNrrlaD STATES PATENT OFFICE ANnEEw E. cnoss AND wnmnm n. rnAzIEn, or l'nENi'rEia' comme MEANS ron OPERATING aman-:somitc-mums 'Application led April 26,

vide an operating motor vfor the drill headA which is connected to the drill stemimmedi ately above the drill head, the drill stem being of comparatively slight length and being rotatably connected-to the lower end of a nonrotatable pipe or hose, Iwhereby the ,motor moves downward with the ldrill head, so that the point at which the power is applied to the drill stem is always at the same distance above the drill head throughout the depth of the well, means being provided for preventing rotation of the motor in the well, and means being provided to vsupply actuating fluid to the motor. A further object ofthe invention is to provide a drill head having a'short, motor-driven drill stem, the upper end ,of which is swiveled to the lower' end of a water hose, whereby a fixed distance between themotor and drill head is maintainedthroughout .the Vwell-boring operation, and the rotative 'power from the motor is applied to the short drill stern,l

' only, and thus directly to the drill head, which is therefdre operated as effectively at a great depth, as at a slight depth, without the necessity of an increase in the ymotive power, guides being provided for holding' the lower endof the hose and also the motor .against rotation a-s theydescend, Isaid motor being connected with a source of steam or ycompressed air.

These objects are accomplished in the manings,'in which l:'- Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional viewillustrating the improved mannerof operating a well-boring drill by a motor directly connected therewith, a core drill being shown. Fig. 2 is'f' a vertical sectional view through the guidewhich centers the lower end fthe water hose where itfis coupled to' the drill a stem andwhich holdsthe said hose against rotation.l

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view, through l the lower end of the Idrill head, shown in Fig.

`-1 on the line 343 of' Fig. 6.

Fig. 4 yis-a top view. o f themotor and its guide. l f

vtion of the water hose to which ner illustrated in ithe accompanying draw? 1928. Serial 1 1'0. 278,015.

Fig. 5 is a side view, showing the'coupler which connects the lower end of the water hose with the drill stem.

Fig. 6 is a bottom view enlarged of the drill head, shown in Figures land AFi 7 is a side viewV showing an ordinary drill ead in connection with the motor.

Fig. 8 is a sideview of the lower end porthe 'drill stem is rotatably connected,`and

Fig. 9 is a side view showing the manner of securin the lifting cable to the drill stem centering evice. v 4

Referring to the accompanying draw-Y e numeral 1 designates a drill' head, which may be of any preferred character or design, butwhich, inthe present case is a drill head adapted for the cutting and removing of cores to determine the nature lof 7 mines the length of the cores to becut, as will be understoo by reference to Fig. 1. Lateral water passages 6 are drilled through theupper end of the head and throughl the drill stem, abovethe plug 4 and these passages are intersected by vertlcal passagesd which extend down through the lower end of the drill, thus permitting water to pass down from the 'drill stem, and out. through the lower end of the .drill .fheadg The lower yend of 'the` drill head is 'formed with a conical de `ression, and the face of this'depression is ormed with four equi-distant sets of spacedlapertured ears 8, 'and a bolt 9 is passed through ythe aperturesof each set of ears, the bol radiating from the axial vcenter ofthe head. pon eac bolt 9 is mounted a set of rotary cutters' 1Q, the cutters of two of the alined bolts travela te n in different aths from the cutters on the y o er two alin bolts, so as to cutaway the entire surface below the head, excepting a central portion whichv enters the drill stem in the form of a core 11.r Side cutting rollers 12 are mounted on the bottom end of the head midway between the rows of cutters 10, and these cutters travel in a path of greater diameter than that of the head so as to provide ample clearance for the head.I Gravityrcutting dogs 13 are pivotally mounted in recesses 14 in the lower end of the drill head, and project through slots 15 in the lower end of the drill stem. VThese dogs are inoperative during the core-forming operation, but when the drill head is lifted slightly, the dogs grip the core, and, as the llifting is continued,

the head being rotated at the same time, the dogs will cutthrough the core and pass. under its lower end, so as to support the core while the head is being rlifted out ofthe well. As the head is lifted, a space will be formed between the upper end of the core and the yblock 4, ,and when the core is pushed up against the block, the dogs can be swung back into the recesses 14, thus permitting the core to drop from the drill stem.

Upon the drill stem 2, immediately above the drill head, is mounted the operating motor, which is inthe form of a turbine 16, which may be operated either-by steam or'compressed air. These turbines are of a style in common use for various "purposes, such as for operati-ng `boiler tubecleaners, and therefore a detail description and drawings of the turbine is deemed unnecessary. The turbine is provided with a rotor 17, asindicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1, through which the drill stem'passes, and is rigidly con-y nected therewith. As used for well boring purposes, the turbine is encased 'in a cylindrical jacket 18, which is non-rotatably secured to the turbine casing and which is of slight.- ly less diameter than the diameter of the well to be drilled, and the jacket is provided with laterally projecting fins 19, which en- Gage the wall of thewell as the'drill head descends, and prevent'rotation of the motor. The jacket forms a guide forthe drill head, whereby it is prevented from wabbling and is maintained in a central position with respect to the wall of the well. fA supply pipe 20 extends from the motor toa steam or air supply, and is made up of sections, which are added as' the well increases in depth. The motor is held against endwise movement on the drill stem, by collars X, which are secured to the stem. above and below the motor. The

'upper vend of the drill stem 2 .is rotatably connected tothe lower end of an armored hose 21in the following manner z-The lower end of the -hose has secured therein, 'a short tube l22,-,the lower'end of which terminates in a flange 23, similar to the flange 3 on the upper end of the drill stem, and the flanged ends of the tube 22 and the drill' stem are connected by a coupler 24'comprising; two half round fins 26 for engaging the wall of the well.

jacket 18, and is also provided with lateral A hollow bell shaped support 27 is bolted to the upper end of the guide 25, and the top of this support rests upon the top edge of the coupler 24, and terminates in a short neck 28, which is rigidly secured upon the tube l22. The drill stem passes through axial holes in the upper `and lower ends of the guide 25, so thatthe upper end of the drill stem ispprevented from wabbling and will therefore turn freely in the coupler 24 on the lower end of the hose 21, which isheld against rotation byits connection with the guide 25. The supply pipe y20 also passes through the guide 25, and is thus held against vibratoryA motion at its connection with the motor.

In Fig. 7 a common form of drill head 29 1s shown in connection with thel motor,

#and this vdrill head may be used in connection with a reamer, or it may be secured directly to the drill stem, as shown, and when thus used, an internally threaded socket member 30 is screwed upon the lower end of the drill stem, and the shank of the drill head is screwed into thesocket member. In other respects, the arrangement is the same as that above described'.

Cables 31 are connected to ears 32 on the bell shaped support 27, and these cables are connected to an operating cable 33 which eX- tends up through the well, to an operating drum in the usual manner, thereby to lift the drill vand motor from the well. i

In operation, the drill head, the motor and the guide- 25 are assembled in the manner previously described, the ydrill stem is couple-d to the lwer end of the hose121 and the supply pipe '20'is connected with an air or steam source.- If avcore drill is used, the same is v lowered finto a previously drilled hole, the fins onV the motor jacket or guide" 18, and on the gudej25 `engaging the wall .of the hole. When the drill head strikes the bottom of the hole, air or-,s'team is admitted to the motor .A

upon the drill stem, just above the drill head,

the power applied is the same at all depths of the well, and is direct, as there is no intervening length of drill stem between the motor and drill head. Thev guides 18 and 25 l center thedrill head with respect to the well and prevent binding of the drill stem in the coupling -which connects it with the end of the water hose. By the direct application of power to the drill head'at all depths of the well, less power is necessary in operating the drill head, than is necessary where that power is transmitted throu h a continuously 1ncreasing lengthof drilI stem, as in the present manner of operation, and therefore the` drilling, by the. improved motor connection, can be more cheaply and quickly accomplished, than by the method at present employed.

Having described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters I Patent, is: v

1. In well drilling mechanism, the com'- 1- bination of a hollow drill stem and a drill head mounted thereon having passages ccnnected ,with said hollow stem, a turbine having a rotor axially mounted upon and secured to said hollow stem, means ig'or preventing rotation of said turbine within the well, comprising a jacket rigidly mounted on the turbine and having fins for engaging the wall of the well, means for supplying a'e- 'tuating uid to said turbine, a hose to extend down, in the well, a coupler for rotatably connecting the upper end of said drill stem to the lower end of said hose, a cylindrical guide surrounding the upper portion of said drill stem, having fins for engaging the wall of the well thereby to prevent rotation of said guide, a support'rigidly connecting said guide, and the lower portion of said hose above saidicoupler, anda lifting cable con- "nected to said support.

2. In well-drilling mechanism, the com# bination with a hollow drill stem, a drill head on said stem, means on ysaid stem fonrotating the same, a hose and a coupler connecting the upper end of said stem and said hose, o'f a cylindrical memberrloosely surrounding the upper portion of said stem and having fins for engaging the wall of the well; a hollow bell-shaped support connected to the upper end ofsaid cylindrical member and to the lower end portion of said hose and enclosing said coupler, aperture'd ears on said bellshaped member, and a lifting cable connected to said ears.

In testimony` whereof, we aix our signatures.

ANDREW B. CROSS. WILLIAM H. FRAZIER. 

